As the year 2021 comes to a close, a total of 26 states have declared increases in the minimum wage for 2022, with 22 of those states putting the hikes into effect on January 1.
California has the largest state minimum wage, $15 per hour. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, sections of New York, including New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties, also have a $15 minimum wage.
The Portland Metro Area in Oregon is close, which will charge $14.75 per hour starting July 1, 2022, and Washington state, which will charge $14.49 per hour starting January 1, 2022.
Payroll specialists from Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. published research on the District of Columbia’s minimum wage, which came out at $15.20 per hour.
“These minimum wage hikes represent important steps toward ensuring that individuals throughout the nation are paid a decent wage,” said Deirdre Kennedy, senior payroll analyst at Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S., in a statement.
Additionally, the change in presidential administration earlier this year and the continuing coronavirus epidemic have all contributed to these modifications, in addition to the already allowed incremental increases.
Ten more states have planned incremental improvements that will bring their min wage to $15 per hour in the next few years, along with Connecticut and Massachusetts by 2023; New Jersey by 2024; Delaware, Illinois, Maryland (big employers), and Rhode Island by 2025; and Florida and Maryland (tiny employers) by 2026. Connecticut and Massachusetts are the first states to set goals of raising their minimum wages to $15 per hour.
According to the research, Pennsylvania will also attain a minimum wage of $15 per hour by 2024 for workers under the control of the Governor.
As a result, beginning on January 1, 2022, hotel employees in West Hollywood, California, will earn the nation’s highest minimum wage of $17.64 per hour, which will be the highest in the country.
The minimum wage for a group of nonbusiness owners will be $15.50 per hour (with a raise to $16.50 per hour effective July 1, 2022). The minimum wage for small non-hotel employers will be $15.00 per hour (with a raise to $16.00 per hour effective July 1, 2022) in West Hollywood starting on January 1.
“Thanks to our campaign for dignity and respect in the workplace, workers in 25 states and 56 municipalities will get a rise in 2022.
“Hundreds of thousands of employees went on strike to demand better, and now tens of thousands will receive greater pay in the new year,” the Fight for $15 group said in a tweet published on December 28.
According to the National Employment Law Project, the Fight for $15 has substantially affected salaries, has affected legislative discussions, and has changed the public dialogue about fair pay and workplace rights, among other things (NELP).
According to a National Employment Law Project analysis, “in the first nine years since its creation, the Fight for $15 has resulted in $150 billion in increased compensation for 26 million employees.”
“Now, it is commonly accepted that $15 is the minimal minimum wage that employees everywhere must earn to survive.
Fight for $15 campaign director Allynn Umel told CNBC that the $15 minimum wage has always been the floor, not the ceiling, for wages. “Working people would continue to request legislators and employers boost pay to keep up with the rising cost of living and ensure that every society can thrive,” Umel said.
Furthermore, the Department of Labor published a final rule in November that executes President Biden’s executive order to raise the minimum hourly wage to $15 for workers on government contracts starting on January 30, 2022, with effect from that date forward.
Indeed, on April 27, 2021, Vice President Biden issued an executive order raising the minimum pay for government contractors from $10.95 to $15. The tipped minimum wage is $7.65 per hour, and federal contract workers will be eliminated by 2024 if the salary is increased to that level.
The regulation is applicable in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and some U.S. territories, among other places.
“The employees who have been assisted by Executive Order 14026 and today’s final rule do critical labor on our nation’s behalf,” stated U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh in a statement issued in November.
In addition, they help to maintain our nation’s infrastructure by constructing and repairing it; they also care for our veterans and guarantee that government employees and military service members have access to safe and healthy meals.”
In addition, the implementation of this Executive Order increases the economic security of these employees and their families, many of whom are women and people of color.”
According to research by Wolters Kluwer, some states and municipalities have considerably surpassed the federal minimum pay. In contrast, others have remained at or below it, with some state minimum wages coming in below the federal wage rate and others increasing more slowly than the federal minimum wage.
“As a result of this, and to compete in a competitive employment market, several firms with operations in numerous states have taken the step of setting their minimum pay.
Also check: Retailers surrender to exceptional prices on online returns
Companies such as Costco, Chipotle, Wells Fargo, Aetna, and Walmart have instituted minimum wage rates for their workers, some of which are higher than the highest state rate,” according to the research. “Some of these rates are higher than the highest state rate.”
According to the research, Costco, for example, recently boosted the minimum wage for its employees in the United States from $16 to $17 per hour.
Please stay connected with us for more news and info!
